


Time's Present

by AristocatSlippers



Category: Natsume Yuujinchou | Natsume's Book of Friends
Genre: Gen, Time travel sort of thing, cause of a yokai, don't worry he's not trapped
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-03
Updated: 2018-07-03
Packaged: 2019-06-04 21:27:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15155987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AristocatSlippers/pseuds/AristocatSlippers
Summary: On the morning of his birthday, Takashi runs into a strange ayakashi. It asks for its name returned and help with something. It repays the favour in an odd manner, though Takashi didn't ask for it, in a way, he can see it as a gift too.





	Time's Present

The present feels warm in Takashi's hand, he's received only one so far - from Touko and Shigeru that morning - but it's still more than he's used to. He woke up that morning barely even remembering his birthday, certainly not expecting any presents. As a child, he'd learnt to not expect anything anymore, eventually he'd even stopped crying, but, he supposes, that's something that's changed. He's yet to unwrap it, he smiles fondly down at the green-clad little box, tied off with a blue ribbon as he walks to his school. Takashi carefully unties the ribbon, folding it up and slipping it into the pocket of his uniform. Before he can start taking off the paper, he walks into something solid - not a person, for the body is cold. Looking up, Takashi is met with the face of a yokai.  


The yokai looks almost like a person, mainly in its shape, except for that it seems to be made of stone. It carries a clock hanging on a golden chain and painted all along its arms are the progression of the seasons, Takashi sees spring turn to summer, summer into autumn and then into winter then the painted progression starts once again.  


"You are Natsume-sama of the book of friends, correct?" It asks, voice deep and calming.  


Takashi nods, glancing to check if the path around him is empty, "I am," he says, when he sees no one but the yokai, "Do you want your name returned to you?"  


The yokai looks at him strangely, "I would indeed," it says, "Then if you wouldn't mind, there's an old oak tree in the woods, one with many carvings like the paintings on my arms, would you take me there?"  


Takashi pauses, the book of friends in his hands, he doesn't think he's ever seen that tree before, even so, he could possibly find it - if he asked the right ayakashi along the way.  


"I will guide you to it, I know the path but my eyes are old and I cannot see much anymore, I would like to go there one last time,"  


Not knowing how to disagree and, perhaps, somewhat curious as to the particular tree - after all, the paintings on the yokai's arms are beautiful, maybe the carvings are just as awe-inspiring - Takashi concedes, agreeing to take it there. He opens the book of friends, saying, "You who shields me, reveal your name,"  


The pages of the book flip over, flickering between different names until it stops with one page standing upright, Takashi takes the page and places it in his mouth, blowing gently to return the name, "Jikiko, I return your name to you,”  


Jikiko’s memories of his grandmother taking their name flow into Takashi's head, they played a game somewhere, in an open meadow filled with flowers. A game of who could find the prettiest flower. Takashi considers it somewhat of an unfair game, Reiko is younger and her eyes aren't failing but if she loses she'll take the yokai to the tree it wants to go to. She wins, of course, and takes its name, she climbs a tree and plucks the blossom from right off the top and hands it to Jikiko. It looks just like one of the blooms painted on the yokai’s arms.  


“I won!” She tells Jikiko triumphantly, “That means I get to take your name, right?”  


Jikiko writes their name down, on the piece of paper she provides, scrawled ayakashi letters that are difficult to read, Reiko squints at them for a moment.  


“Ah, time.” She says. After that the memory fades gently away.  


The yokai closes its eyes, receiving the name graciously, then slowly with its free arm, reaches out and takes hold of Takashi's arm. Takashi startles, though the grip is loose.  


"Will you take me to the tree now?" It asks.  


"Where do I start?" Takashi responds, slipping the book of friends and the small, unopened present into his uniform carefully.  


They start at the Eight Fields, Yatsuhara, looking for the path. Its a path that even he has never found before and it's very strange, along its sides the trees don't entirely reflect the season of summer that marks his birthday, just like the paintings, the trees and flowers mix between autumn and spring and summer and winter. Some trees are bare and marked with frost which covers their trunks and the grass around their bases, some grow blooms of flowers and others have leaves that vary between bright green and brown. In a strange sense, its beautiful. The yokai holds to his arm, stumbling on bumps in the path that it can no longer see. Eventually, after walking for what seems like a very, very long time, they come across the oak tree. It is huge and old and its branches seem to spread for as far as Takashi can see, its limbs encompassing every part of every season.  


Along its trunk are the carvings the yokai, Jikiko, spoke of. Snowflakes and icy rivers and mountains are carved into its base, then the flow of the river continues and the carving shows spring, where animals are just born and only flowers like daffodils have begun to bloom, then summer then autumn, Takashi circles the tree trunk, taking in all the beauty of the carvings with awe. It's almost like the yokai had brought him there to give him another birthday present. He presses his fingers to the trunk, standing by the yokai again. The yokai climbs up the tree, clambering onto one of its lower branches and dangling the clock.  


"Thank you, Natsume-sama, is there anything you wish for that I can repay you with?" It questions.

Takashi shakes his head, unable to think of anything he wants now that he doesn't already have. When he was a child, he might have wished for his father, or his mother, or maybe for the monsters to go away. He half wishes he could tell that poor child that, though his parents don't come back and the monsters don't go away, he'll have a family and perhaps not all the monsters are so bad, some of them are even friends.  


"I see," the yokai says with understanding. Tapping the clock, it closes its eyes and pushes the clock hands back, then it presses its head to the tree.  


Takashi blinks and something feels different, it's not the same as what happened with the Day's Eater, he's not any younger than he was before.  


"Natsume-sama," Jikiko tells him, "When you want to go back, simply think it and you'll go back to exactly when you left,"  


Confused, Takashi opens his mouth to ask the yokai to clarify, but the yokai lays down on its branch and starts to glow, slowly fading into light, leaving him with only the clock it carried and the tree. Takashi sits against the tree trunk, considering what it meant, head leaning against the bark. Takashi jolts up, a flood of memories flowing from his mind and into a tree, they pause at one memory and Takashi understands what it means. He clambers up on to the branch the yokai had sat on and picks up the clock, studying it and turning it over in his hands. He reads the inscription of yokai writing, the Time Keeper's clock. Takashi hangs it from the branch and jumps back down.  


If it's sent him back in time and he can go back any time he wants, just by thinking about it, then maybe, just maybe, he can find what it was like in the small town before he came - maybe he could even find out what it was like when Reiko lived there. He could talk to her, maybe. Takashi wanders back down the path, carefully avoiding any ayakashi that would recognise him as Reiko's grandson and demand their name back - though that depends on how long ago he is.  


The town seems largely unchanged, so he mustn't have gone so far back that he wouldn't know the place, the day is just as sunny as the sky was on his birthday, the one he came from, though the sun hangs just slightly low and he can hear all the young children running out of the gates of the elementary school, laughing and yelling. When he walks by the gates, he sees two that he recognises, a young Nishimura and Kitamoto run by, chattering and playing with each other and just as energetic as they always have been. Well, Takashi supposes, it's not far enough back to meet his grandmother, he's kind of sad about that.  


There are maybe other places he wants to go, he passes Touko in the street as he wanders around the town, almost pausing to stop and talk to her before he realises she doesn't know him yet. But he's five years in the past and he remembers when he was ten - perhaps five years, that's how old his two friends looked - would it be wrong of him to go visit that child? To tell him that he'll be okay some day and truly mean it? He'll never get another chance to do whether he should or not.  


In the train station there's a stand full of the local newspapers, Takashi reads the date, almost surprised to see it say July 1st. July 1st - the day of his tenth birthday that he spent alone and scared like so many others. Takashi pays for the train ticket, careful to make sure all the notes and coins are ones that were minted in the right years and riding the late night train to that town he used to live in, back when he was a ten year old. It takes an hour or two to get there, rattling along the train tracks as all the scenery whirs by its windows, then eventually the automated voice blares over the speakers, announcing the stop there and Takashi gets off, patting his pockets to check that his precious gift is still safely there.  


He finds his child-self alone, crying once again in the park. The child startles when he hears Takashi approach, head whipping upwards and tear sodden eyes staring right through him, he's instantly guarded and weary. Takashi crouches down in front of him, extending a friendly hand, “Um, kid, are you okay?” he asks.  


The child flinches back, avoiding his hand so Takashi drops it, though the kid doesn't respond. He tries again, for whatever reason, he's not sure why he decided to come at this point, “It's okay, I'm not gonna do anything. It's just… I saw you crying so I got worried,” Takashi tells him, sitting down cross-legged a metre or two away.  


Young-him just stares warily, quiet. “The monsters won't leave me alone,” he whispers under his breath.  


Perhaps he thinks he's one of the monsters, “Monsters?” Takashi asks, “They're pretty scary huh? But I know how to fight them off,”  


The child’s eyes widen, not in awe but fear, maybe he wasn't supposed to hear. Takashi scrambles to fix his mistake, he's kind of making a mess of this, “Sorry, you weren't very quiet there. Mm,” Takashi says, thinking, “How about I buy you a cake? Any one you want, would that cheer you up?”  


Excitement bleeds onto his face and all traces of wariness leave the child, replaced with hunger for a sweet dessert. Man, he'd forgotten that those people barely fed him. Takashi watches him jump up off the ground and follows behind him, letting him lead him to the cake store that he always stared into longingly, never being able to enter.  


Takashi's younger self pushes open the door, the bell chimes announcing their entrance to the one waitress working the quiet evening. They pull out their chairs and sit, reading the menus.  


“Hello, what would you two like to eat?” She asks after a few minutes, making her way over to their table and holding a pencil and notebook.  


Ordering the chocolatiest slice of cake on the menu - which also happens to be the cheapest of all the lavish cake options - the child sighs in what's either happiness or relief. He's not sure whether it's because of the cake or because the waitress just proved that he wasn't an ayakashi. Takashi orders a strawberry shortcake for himself. They sit in silence, waiting for the cakes, after a moment or two the waitress places the slices down in front of them and instructs them to enjoy.  


His younger-self digs in immediately but Takashi eats his shortcake slowly, “Um, what were you crying about earlier?” Takashi asks hesitantly.  


The child stops eating, answering in a small voice, “It's my birthday and no one cares.” He says, “Not even the monsters will leave me alone.”  


“Well, for today they will.” Takashi tells him, full of confidence, “You said it was your birthday today? Did nobody get you a present?”  


The child shakes his head, already eating his slice of cake again. Takashi pats at his pocket again, tempted to give the present in it away, though he changes his mind instantly, the Fujiwaras gave it to him, he can’t just give it away. By the time he’s finished, Takashi has another idea which he thinks might work better.  


“Should we go buy you one then?” Takashi asks the child.  


He nods hesitantly, placing the fork down with a clatter on his plate and pushing out his chair to leave, Takashi pays for the cakes and thanks the waitress, then follows suit. When they’re outside again, the child slips his hand into Takashi’s, silently asking to be kept safe. Takashi ensures just that as they walk along the town’s high street, the child pressing his face up to the windows to look inside. He chooses a toy shop, rushing inside and spinning around in awe, wondering at the tall shelves reaching from floor to ceiling, completely filled with toys. The child looks pleadingly up at him and Takashi nods in affirmation, he can have anyone he wants.  


After scouring the store, the child chooses a small cat toy, fluffy and white, it almost feels like a real cat. When the paw is pressed it meows quietly. The child vows with all his heart to treasure it and keep it safe. Takashi buys it and takes the child home, writing a protective charm on the tag to ward off any dangerous yokai, one that Hiiragi had shown him.  
The sun is beginning to set by the time he's back on the train, making his way back to the tree of seasons. After all, the yokai had said when not where, if he's not careful he could be stuck three towns away. The scenery blurs by again, a breathtaking view of rural countryside which ultimately ends in another dark train station. Takashi alights and walks leisurely back to the Eight Fields, finding the path and once again following it in awe of its changing seasons. He climbs the tree another time, holding the clock he hung there and pressing his hands to its bark once again, Takashi sits for a short while, admiring the view and wondering whether it was one his grandmother ever saw, idly winding back the clock hands. It feels different once again.  


“What are you doing here? It’s not safe in this forest," a young girl demands, voice sounding from the trunk of the tree as she stands looking up at Takashi, hands on her hips.  


Takashi glances down at her, surprised for all of a second. He doesn’t know what to say in response, “Ah, um”  


“You should leave,” Reiko tells him insistently.  


“Ah, then shouldn’t you too?” Takashi asks, wearing a small smile, how strange that he’d get to meet her.  


Reiko just stares sternly at him, shaking her head at his clever reply. She swings herself up onto the branch that Takashi sits on, the tree limb groaning a little under the added weight, and gazes out over the strange little part of the forest, “No, I’ll stay here, I like the view,” She declares to him.  


“Me too, I could spend all the time in the world here, Reiko-san,” Takashi says.  


Reiko’s expression flickers briefly to one of surprise, or shock or bewilderment before it settles on bemusement, “You know, boy, I don’t know your name yet, how rude it is that you somehow know mine.”  


“You’re one to speak for being rude.” Takashi says, “Natsume Takashi,” he adds, pulling out the book of friends and holding it just slightly out to her.  


Reiko glances towards it, recognising the little book in an instant. She seems somewhat scandalised by the fact that it’s thinner than she remembers. She also doesn’t miss the fact that their eyes and hair and face are all the same and that Takashi shares her surname. After a minute of scrutinising him, she asks for an explanation.  


“And who are you to me, Natsume Takashi? You have my Book of Friends.” Reiko asks curiously.  


Takashi hesitates to answer, would she believe him anyway? Reiko nudges him with her elbow, looking expectantly at him as he stays silent.  


“Well Grandmother,” He says, watching the surprise make its way onto her face again, “I guess I’m not really someone you would know.”  


Confusion passes across her face until her eyes settle on the Time Keeper’s clock, she glances back to Takashi questioningly, silently asking him if he’d met the same yokai too.  


“Ah, time. You know I met that yokai just today, it left a few hours ago.”  


“Oh?” Takashi responds, “Sorry Reiko-san, Jikiko came looking for me today and I returned their name to them. I know you gathered them.”  


Reiko jumps down from the thick branch that the two sit on, watching him once again from the bottom of the tree, “That’s okay, though really you should have turned down the offer of repayment.” She calls up to him. “That old rock really loved this tree, huh?” She adds quietly, muttering more to herself than to Takashi.  


“Well, I was repaid before I really had a chance to say no, Reiko-san. Still, it was almost like a birthday present, I don’t really mind.” Takashi tells her gently, it was, in a way, a very kind gesture from the yokai.  


“Birthday?” Reiko asks, sitting down on the damp forest floor, “Did you get any presents?”  


Takashi leaps down after depositing the book of friends back in his pocket, he sits next to his grandmother and carefully shows her his precious present.  


“Haven’t you opened it yet?” She questions, slightly irritable. Presents are made to be opened.  


Takashi shakes his head, but slowly begins to unwrap the paper to reveal the small brown box inside. He pulls off the lid to find a note that covers the top.  


‘We found this in the stuff that came with you when you arrived at our house after Shigeru and I first brought you home. It was torn and half the stuffing was falling out, so we decided to fix it. Love, Touko and Shigeru.’  


He doesn’t cry, per se, but the note is sweet and he’s reminded of just how much the Fujiwaras care. Inside the box is the little white cat toy, it meows when he squeezes the paw. Reiko looks at it stony faced, perhaps, just slightly jealous, if Takashi could guess anything from her memories.  


Reiko leans backwards, stretching her hands behind her and blowing out air in a wistful sigh, “I wonder if maybe someday someone will get me a lovely present like that,” She muses.  


“Reiko-san,” Takashi says, “I know that you find someone, though I’ve never met them.”  


“Maybe,” She says, “Maybe. Are you going back soon, Natsume Takashi?” Takashi nods and she sighs once again, “Well then, goodbye.”  


“Goodbye, Reiko-san,” Takashi bids her farewell and presses his hands to the tree and thinks about home and his birthday again and Reiko is gone, confined back to his memories of her gained from every name returned.  


He gets up and leaves the tree, going back to school, clutching the soft, white cat toy protectively in his hands. His precious present. Nishimura and Kitamoto, Tanuma, Taki and Natori all get him something too. He treasures them all. But there’s something so very special about that toy. A small cat toy, fluffy and white, it almost feels like a real cat. When the paw is pressed it meows quietly. Takashi vows with all his heart to treasure it and keep it safe.


End file.
